Letter: Amore endorses Kazarian in Rep. 63 race

EastBayRI.com ·

To the editor:
I have had the pleasure of serving with Katherine Kazarian since we were both sworn into the R.I. House of Representatives in January of 2013. During the past four years I have come to know her as one of the hardest working, most dedicated and intellectually impressive representatives in the chamber.
I have seen her become a champion on issues of children’s health, public education, the environment, small businesses and middle class families. I have heard her ask probing and important questions in committee hearings, demonstrating not only her keen understanding of the issues, but her absolute commitment to being prepared on behalf of those she represents. I have heard her speak eloquently on the floor of the House and compassionately to constituents who are facing a difficult situation.
I have seen her work toward compromise, build consensus among her colleagues and have the courage of her convictions while voting against the House leadership on key issues important to those she represents. These votes included a no vote on the Narragansett homestead exemption tax that will adversely affect so many Rumford residents who have worked hard to be able to purchase and enjoy a summer home.
She is an independent thinker who joined me, and the entire team of East Providence legislators, in voting for the Rhode Works program, not because it was politically expedient, it was not. She voted for it because Rhode Island’s road and bridge infrastructure is the worst in the nation and getting worse by the day. She studied the issue, looked at alternative plans and made a tough vote that will pay dividends for all Rhode Islanders for decades to come.
She led the fight on behalf of her neighbors whose quality of life had been adversely affected by the operation of the former Pond View recycling plant on Dexter Road. In doing so she took on entrenched interests and the politically powerful. In the end, she sponsored and was instrumental in the passage of the comprehensive bill that finally led to the end of the nuisance that had plagued so many Rumford residents for so long.
She was the co-sponsor and tireless advocate of legislation that significantly increased the per pupil state reimbursement to the East Providence School Department for the non-resident students at Bradley Hospital. This bill will save the tax payers of East Providence nearly 300 thousand dollars next year.
She sponsored the bill that became law that imbeds instruction into public school curriculum that forever guarantees the teaching of holocaust and genocide in our classrooms. She has voted to eliminate the energy sales tax on business.
She voted to provide paid family leave so that we can be there for our loved ones in times of medical crisis or the birth of a child. She voted yes on exempting the first 15 thousand on all pension income and removing the state income tax on Social Security for the vast majority of middle income Rhode Islanders. She has championed car tax relief, common sense gun control legislation and increased education aid to our city.
Katherine Kazarian is extremely well respected in the House of Representatives as a serious legislator with a bright future. She has earned that respect with her tireless advocacy on behalf of her district. Anyone who has spent any time with Representative Kazarian, and those of us in the House who work with her every day, know that she is bright, articulate, honest and forthright. Those of you who meet her at your doors know that she is engaging and genuinely interested in the concerns of those she represents.
In a time when too many Rhode Islanders are searching for a state representative who they can be proud of, those of you who live in District 63 already have one.
On November 8th, I encourage you to vote to send her back to the State House so she can continue to do the good work she has done on behalf of the the people of East Providence.
Representative Gregg M. Amore

District 65- East Providence

73 Plymouth Rd.